Extreme Temperatures
Residents of Moscow are surely used to wintry weather-- but the city is bracing itself for the biggest March snowfall on record in 50 years.
Heavy snowfall started early Wednesday morning, with forecasters predicting that up to 25 centimetres of snow will fall in the next three days.
Local authorities promised to use more than 15,000 snow-ploughs to clean up the roads. The mayor's office urged locals to keep their cars off the roads and use public transport instead.
Temperatures are expected to go below minus 20 degrees Celsius in the next 24 hours. Even for Moscow,known for its harsh climate, the snowfall is unusual this time of the year.
This week, Russians traditionally mark the coming of spring with celebrations.
© France24
Cars drive through the snow on March 11, 2013 in Honguemare-Guenouville, northwestern France. More than 68,000 homes were without electricity in France and hundreds of people were trapped in their cars after a winter storm hit with heavy snow.
Cars drive through the snow on March 11, 2013 in Honguemare-Guenouville, northwestern France. More than 68,000 homes were without electricity in France and hundreds of people were trapped in their cars after a winter storm hit with heavy snow.
An accident near the northern city of Lille involving three cars that skidded in icy conditions on a motorway left 14 people injured, including six firefighters.
Twenty-six regions in northwest and northern France were put on orange alert because of heavy snowfalls, which Meteo France said were "remarkable for the season because of the expected quantity and length of time".
Conditions were forecast to improve early Wednesday.
Unseasonably severe weather struck much of France on Tuesday, leaving tens of thousands of homes temporarily without electricity and paralysing travel across Europe.
Just when many in France allowed themselves hope that spring may be around the corner, a fresh flurry of heavy snowfall struck much of the country, leaving tens of thousands of homes without electricity and disrupting travel across Europe.
French weather service Metéo France put two regions in the northwest on red alert - the highest possible - and 28 other regions across the country's north and northwest on orange alert because of the winter storm, calling the snowfall "remarkable for the season because of the expected quantity and length of time".
Just when many in France allowed themselves hope that spring may be around the corner, a fresh flurry of heavy snowfall struck much of the country, leaving tens of thousands of homes without electricity and disrupting travel across Europe.
French weather service Metéo France put two regions in the northwest on red alert - the highest possible - and 28 other regions across the country's north and northwest on orange alert because of the winter storm, calling the snowfall "remarkable for the season because of the expected quantity and length of time".
© Getty Images
As much as 10in (25cm) of snow fell on Chicago on Tuesday
As much as 10in (25cm) of snow fell on Chicago on Tuesday
Schools are shut and more than 1,500 flights cancelled at Washington DC and Baltimore airports, with up to a foot (30cm) of snowfall predicted.
Officials have warned of power cuts in the mid-Atlantic region between New England and the south-eastern states.
On Tuesday, Chicago saw heavy snowfall with about 10in reported in some areas.
"Everybody's got a little comment with every bag they're buying," said Mike McIntosh, who works at Dressel's Hardware in Oak Park just outside Chicago. Workers had started to stock the shelves with tools and supplies associated with spring and summer, only to find the shovels and salt they thought they'd hold for another year were still in demand. "Everybody's a bit surprised, but it's good for us, we've got a lot of this stuff to move," he said. On Monday, the system moved across the Dakotas and Minnesota, dropping up to a foot of snow in some areas and freezing rain in others. Some schools closed and officials warned motorists to stay off the roads.
Remains of an ice meteor on a factory roof in Spain.
Climate experts have long warned that global warming could bring an increase in extreme weather, such as hurricanes and drought. They never mentioned 20-pound chunks of ice falling from the clear blue sky, tearing through roofs, shattering windshields, and gouging impact craters. Yet reports of such "clear-sky ice fall events" have been on the rise worldwide in recent years, and in February Spanish researchers offered further evidence that the increase could be due to climate change.
© The Bismarck Tribune via AP
Snow-covered trees form a scenic canopy over Bismarck, N.D., on Monday, March 4, 2013, in the wake of a slow-moving winter storm that passed through the state.
Snow-covered trees form a scenic canopy over Bismarck, N.D., on Monday, March 4, 2013, in the wake of a slow-moving winter storm that passed through the state.
The storm was expected to peter out by the time it hits New York and Boston later in the week, but not before it creates a mess for commuters from Upper Mississippi and Ohio River valleys eastward to the Atlantic Coast.
Significant snowfall will make travel dangerous Monday night and Tuesday in the Upper Midwest, especially around major cities like Minneapolis, Indianapolis and Chicago. The Weather Channel warned that major delays were likely Tuesday at O'Hare and Midway airports.
Chicago is expected to get its biggest snowfall of the season - as much as 10 inches by Tuesday evening. The National Weather Service said accumulation rates of one to two inches an hour beginning Tuesday morning would make "snow removal difficult and travel extremely dangerous."
"Consider only traveling if in an emergency," it said in issuing a winter storm warning for the city.
Unseasonably warm temperatures Monday melted some of the winter's snow in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul - just in time for a new blast of winter that could drop as much as 7 inches of new snow overnight and Tuesday.
© MOMIN QURESHI/680NEWS
GTA residents had a difficult time shovelling the heavy wet snow, Feb. 27, 2013
GTA residents had a difficult time shovelling the heavy wet snow, Feb. 27, 2013
Snowfall record
Toronto broke a snowfall record for Feb. 27, according to Environment Canada.
At Pearson International Airport, 12.4 centimetres of the heavy wet snow covered the ground, breaking the record of 7.1 centimetres set in 1967.
© AP Photo/The Amarillo Globe News, Michael Schumacher
Brandon Green works through a 5-foot snow drift in his driveway, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 in Amarillo, Texas. The blizzard that hammered the nation's midsection broke a 120-year-old record in Amarillo for one-day snowfall in February with 19.1 inches.
Brandon Green works through a 5-foot snow drift in his driveway, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 in Amarillo, Texas. The blizzard that hammered the nation's midsection broke a 120-year-old record in Amarillo for one-day snowfall in February with 19.1 inches.
National Weather Service meteorologist Krissy Scotten in Amarillo says the snowfall total Monday bested a record set Feb. 16, 1893, when 19 inches fell.
© Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
Poor road conditions are a concern today in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Poor road conditions are a concern today in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Precipitation from this system had already started to fall last night, in a line from west-central Alberta into southern Saskatchewan, with Edmonton reporting light rain in the evening and freezing rain around midnight. This switched over to all snow, heavy at times, overnight and continued to fall through the morning, with gusty winds causing blowing and drifting snow.
The storm is spreading into southern Alberta this morning. Heavy snowfall is expected at times throughout the day, dropping between 10-15 centimetres of snow by tonight, with blowing snow from winds gusting up to 70 km/h.
